


Pandora's Box

by FriendlyCabbage



Category: Weak Hero (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:22:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 18,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26397106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FriendlyCabbage/pseuds/FriendlyCabbage
Summary: This is just a weak hero fanfiction. If you ever see a chapter titled "Not a Chapter," it's not a chapter. It's probably just an update or random theories I have. This is not an insert story. If there are OC's, they will probably appear once and then never again. My ships will likely find their way into the story in some way, but only if I can find an effective way to add them without going against their characters.
Relationships: Gray Yeon/Sieun Yeon x Donald Na/Baekjin Na
Comments: 27
Kudos: 101





	1. Chapter 1

Donald's POV

Eunjang was, in short, Pandora's Box. It should never have been opened in the first place. They should have been left to live trapped in their little box world to the end of time. But then Jimmy Bae went and fucked everything up by taking that independent mission from Philip. Honestly, maybe it was actually Philip's fault for trying to escape the box. Regardless of whose fault it is, the box will not be resealed. The box fucking refuses to be resealed. Thus I am stuck with a problem caused by my underlings. The problem of how to destroy Pandora's Box... 

Donald Na spun around in his chair as he pondered about what to do about Eunjang. It really did have nothing to do with him. Even if you were to assume that the incident that occurred last year caused their current issues with Eunjang, it was Jimmy Bae who started the fight. Does this mean that I have to fix the problem yet again? How absurd. Stuck dealing with other people's shit even when I'm at the top, truly absurd. Inevitably the domino effect will occur and they'll come knocking on my door if I wait too long. *sigh* I might as well start looking into who I need to crush. 

"Kingsley." Kingsley looked over quickly, not expecting his name to be called out randomly. "Uh- yes sir!" "I need you to look into all of the rankers in Eunjang, be sure to include their friend groups. It will make them far easier to spot when I start looking for them." "Yes sir." 

Donald Na turned back to his papers. "Focus on the business, that's what's important. They're not as important as the business... Arg... Even Wolf is causing problems," Donald Na thought out loud with an annoyed expression. Seriously, who even is the "White Mamba?" Why did they need to be dragged into this mess as well? Donald Na rubbed his eyes as he acknowledged the growing problem that was that stupid box. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben's POV

The Union seems to see us as a problem. They even directly attacked Gray. There was no reason to attack him! Why would they send Wolf after Gray? Basing it off of how they seemingly for no reason attacked Gray, what if they go after Alex to? I know he can look after himself, but seeing as how they are sending Union rankers, I don't think he'll be able to defend himself. 

"Eugene, when do you think those bastards will attack next?" "Eh? Oh- uh... I don't know?" Eugene looked confused with the question. "Come on, you can just give me your best guess." "Um... I mean... " 

Eugene's POV

Jimmy Bae trying to fight Ben makes sense because of his personality, Forest attacking was probably him only doing it on Donald's orders, and Wolf attacking Gray was probably just him being random honestly. I have no idea when they will attack again. I don't even know who will attack. It would either have to be Donald Na or Jake Ji. I don't like the idea of either marching on Eunjang. I'm uncertain if Ben would be able to stop either of them. At the same time, I could be underestimating or overestimating their capabilities. The way that Gray won against Wolf defies all odds. Everything said that he should lose, from his body type to his level of experience in fights compared to Wolf. Seeing as how that fight went against everything the Shuttle Patch said would happen, there's no telling if the Shuttle Patch ranking system will be wrong again. 

"I'm sorry, I truly don't know. All I can say about this is what we all already knew, it will either be Donald Na or Jake Ji."

Ben's POV

Right... everything has been so uncertain since the Union started attacking us. I guess it would get to be uncertain even for our informant. "Don't worry about it, we'll just have to make due with the information that we have. You've already helped us all very much so far." Ben gave a friendly smile. It was laced with worry. If they go after Alex... I will protect him. I will protect him just like I did that day. 

Eugene's POV

I need to be more useful... I can't just be there. Seeing Gray get hurt like that... it bothers me. He's my friend. Instead of being one of those stupid bullies, he was my friend. Admittedly an absolutely terrifying friend, but still my friend. I can tell Rowan is also upset about how useless we were to him and Teddy seems to be upset that he missed it. He is lucky he missed it. To feel so powerless to protect my friends... it's the most horrible feeling. "Eugene!" Rowan... "Hi Rowan, how are you holding up?" "Hmm... more mastery of the elbow and I think I'll be the best I could ever be!" Happy, loud, and talkative as ever. It's good to see that he's not stuck on that feeling of uselessness. "And how about you Teddy?" Teddy sipped from his coke. "Okay, when are we going to visit Gray again?" Huh, guess he already wants to see Gray again... or is he trying to mentally prepare himself to be faced with Gray again. "After school." Teddy winced. Okay, so he's trying to mentally prepare himself. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

Being trapped inside of a hospital... how uncomfortable. I can't run from the memories here. The smell... the hospital staff... the only bit of solace I get is when my friends visit or when I'm deep enough in my studies to ignore everything. What makes this even worse is the knowledge that I'm getting behind in class and there's an upcoming olympiad... An olympiad... should I just stay home? No. Calm down. Just because it happened once doesn't mean it'll happen again. There's no reason to panic. Just focus on your studies. As long as you are studying, nothing can bother you. Just study, that is all that matters...


	2. Pandora's Box 2

Teddy POV

He should be coming back to school today... Gray Yeon, what a monster... I fear him, but at the same time, I'm almost thankful for him. It's because of him that I lost what I thought to be a friend, but was truly a parasite, and I realized that Philip is just a piece of shit stuck on the bottoms of everyone's' shoes. Seriously, fuck Philip that goddamn paintbrush. I hate to admit it, but I have been waiting for this day. He's a part of my team... or... I guess I'm a part of his team. His friends have more or less become my friends. My only friends. Everything I did in the past it seems that only they could let go of. They are the force that knocked my life's path into uncertainty and they are the force that pulled me back onto stable ground. Very confusing. 

"HEY!!!" And that is most definitely Rowan.

"What up?" 

"Today's the day Gray comes back from the hospital, right?" I said ignoring his question. 

"Yep, shouldn't be long before we can all hang together like the old times." 

"Pft- you say that like we're old." 

"Yeah, but it still feels like it has been centuries since we all got together- even though it's only been like two or three weeks," said Rowan making some weird overly exaggerated hand gesture that was more of an elbow gesture. 

"Sure," I said while taking a sip from my coke. It really does feel like it has been centuries I will admit though. 

To get to hang with the complete team is a dream. Ben, Gray, Gerard, Alex, Rowan, Eugene, and me, all together doing something. To be a part of something... It's a wonderful thought. Dreamlike indeed. Sure, most of the time it's just Rowan, Eugene, Gray, and me hanging out, but it just feels so wonderful to be included in their friend group. To be their friend instead of their enemy. I smiled absentmindedly. My six wonderful friends who won't turn their backs on me. Truly, there is nothing that I could have asked more for, well I mean aside from Sprite. My six wonderful friends and my amazing cat. 

Oh... 

Rowan's still talking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

Freedom, room to breathe, room to think, and... enemies. Enemies, everywhere I look. I can practically see them pulling the daggers out of their eyes to try and stab me. Of course, none of them actually have the guts to even try to attempt such a thing, but still. It seems they finally recognize me as a true threat. I haven't even made it to my classroom yet and I can already feel the tension, the fear, and the anger. They want me gone, for sure. Oh well, it's typical for those with power to be hated and plotted against. Whatever these wild animals have planned will not work. As long as they blindly submit without even the slightest resistance, they don't even have the right to be referred to as humans. Freedom is something that needs to be fought for endlessly, even if it ends in failure. 

Gray opened the door to his classroom and sat down. 

Eugene's POV

"Ah, Gray!" It has been far too long since I last saw him in the classroom. It's good to see him again. 

"What did I miss."

Huh, straight to the point. 

"Uh, nothing much, it was all mostly just review." 

I don't want to say it, but even if it's just review, I've been struggling without him. It's mostly because I was worried that Colton Choi and Evan Yoo would try something while he was gone, but I guess they were too scared of the idea of angering him when he came back. I should have expected that, but oh well. It's too late to do anything about that. 

"What was it that we reviewed?"

Of course, he'd still want to know, he's the Great Gray Yeon! I should give him my notes, they probably won't help him, but still.

The door opened.

"Yo!"

It's Rowan and Teddy. "Hi, guys."

"Gray, you're back! We missed you dude." 

Gray gave a small smile in response. 

"It's been way too long."

"It does feel that way doesn't it, haha." my goodness, it really has been way too long. We just need the other three and we'll all be together again.


	3. Pandora's Box 3

Ben's POV

Gray's back, Gray's back, Gray is back! I gotta bring Alex to go visit him, oh and Gerard to! Ha, I can already see the tree approach. "Gerard, you going to visit Gray to?" (Ben)

"Yep, you bringing Alex to see him?" (Gerard)

"Yeah, I was actually just about to ask you if you know where he is." (Ben)

"Don't know, if he's not with you then he is probably already visiting him or taking an emergency shit." (Gerard)

"Haha, sounds about right." (Ben)

Knowing him, he's probably already on the way to visit Gray. I wonder if he'd like some banana milk? I should stop by the cafeteria and get him some first.

"Hold up, we need to hit up the cafeteria for some banana milk first." (Ben)

"Heh, sure why not." (Gerard)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex's POV

"So you're signing up for the olympiad?" (Alex)

"Yes." (Gray)

"Immediately after you've left the hospital?" (Alex)

"There were only minor injuries, you know this. My performance will not be affected by that incident whatsoever." (Gray)

Well... I mean he is right I guess. The worst injuries were on his hands and based on what Eugene and Rowan told us, those injuries only happened because Gray lost it.

...

He must have been terrified...

Stuck on a roof without anyone who can really help...

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" (Alex)

"Completely." (Gray)

He doesn't seem even remotely bothered. All he's focused on is that Olympiad competition thingy. What is the Olympiad even about? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. He's always so emotionless like this. Ha... I need something to calm me down. All this worrying is just way too much. Maybe some banana milk or something? 

"Our cute Colton~" (Ben)

Oh, Ben! I was wondering where he was.

"Do you just do that every time you come to this classroom?" (Gerard)

"Yup! Haha. Oh! Alex, I was wondering where you were." (Ben)

"Ha, right back at ya." (Alex)

"Here, some banana milk." (Ben)

Wow, he read my mind.

"Thanks!" (Alex)

"Gray, good to see you. How are ya?" (Ben)

"Decent." (Gray)

"You sure?" (Ben)

"Confident." (Gray)

"Okay, if you say so. Still, it's so good to see you at school again. I know we all visited you almost every day, but it's just not the same as hanging out like this." (Ben)

"..." (Gray)

"Um... maybe we should call the others. There has only been like one time where we were all together so far." (Eugene)

"What a great idea Eugene! Gray's return is an event worthy of celebrating." (Ben)

"I'll text them." (Eugene)

A meeting of all of us together? Celebrating? 

"Hey, we should have the celebration in 'the room.'" (Alex)

"Ooh, right~ 'the room.' Eugene, tell the others that we're celebrating in 'the room.'" (Ben)

"Right, I'll have to guide them to 'the room' too. They don't know about 'the room.'" (Eugene)

Pft, you can tell who all the eavesdroppers are now. They look so confused. None of them know about our secret hideout in the Annex Building. Honestly, even if they did know about it, it would still be the best place to have the celebration. It just has the perfect atmosphere for it. 

"Then it's settled, we're having a party for Gray in 'the room.'" (Ben)

"..." (Gray)


	4. Pandora's Box 4

Donald's POV

There is a total of three shuttle patch rankers at Eunjang. Based on the behavior of that hooligan's friend, I don't believe I can count out their friends getting involved as well. I have no certain measurements as to how far the capabilities of the other two rankers span. 

First up on the list of menaces is Ben Park. He is capable of pushing himself to the limits even when he's bleeding out. I have no doubts that he was on the brink of death the last time I saw him. The idea that he could have gotten even stronger since I last saw him is definitely not out of the question. With the recent defeats of Jimmy Bae and Forest Lee, using any normal person to deal with him is the same as wasting chess pieces with no real benefits. It is safe to assume that he is the one in control of Eunjang. I'd have to use either myself or Jake Ji to get rid of him. 

And then there is that "White Mamba." I've been hearing about him for a while now. He's known for his use of weapons in battle. His most noteworthy achievement is that of the defeat of Wolf. He apparently received heavy damages while procuring that victory, even having to go to the hospital, so it can be assumed that his power level is around theirs. Using Jake Ji to take care of this one would be overkill. Perhaps I could find a way to puppet him into Miles Joo. Unfortunately, that implies that I could figure out where that prick is hiding so this method is unlikely to happen but could become relevant if I could find him. If Miles were to lose, it would have no loss to me or the Union so this is a very tempting thought. Maybe I could even find a way to turn Ben and White Mamba against each other. This would create problems within Eunjang and likely get rid of White Mamba altogether. I'll have to think more on this idea later... 

The third ranker is that "mad dog." I haven't heard anything big about him at all. The only thing that I've heard about him is that he's "a stupid tree who likes to kick." Jimmy Bae reportedly had no trouble knocking him around so I highly doubt that he'll be a big problem. 

I expect their friends to get involved when I start crushing all of them as well. They won't be a problem unless they have great numbers. I still feel like giving them a little credit at least for being as gutsy as they are. 

I will have to set a date for when I crush that stupid box. I'll also have to decide what I want to do about White Mamba, all of the possibilities are just so delicious that I want to think more on it. I am leaning towards using him to cause internal problems though, haha~ Honestly, the thought of causing that box to cave in on itself is just so enticing. I could just focus on my work while Eunjang destroys itself. 

*sigh*

Unfortunately, I don't think that'd get rid of Ben Park. It might get rid of that "mad dog," but it'd still leave the main problem. 

Actually... imagine the mental state Ben Park would be in after having to crush one of his own friends. His overall moral would definitely be destroyed. The rumors always did say that he loses his shit whenever someone touches his friends. To be the one who did the hurting to his friends... Yes, it's perfect. He'll be too mentally distressed to fight correctly. 

Well then, it's settled. 

First thing's first, I need to find White Mamba. Figure out what would make him stab his friends in the back. He doesn't even have to join me, as long as he does his job then he has already served his purpose. 

I'm finally relaxed enough to work. I should also put in some time to studying. There is an upcoming Olympiad. Last year I got second place. I plan to reclaim my title as first this year and make up for last year's loss. Failure is unacceptable. This year's Olympiad belongs to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

"..."

It's truly a strange feeling. There's not a cloud in the sky and yet I can already feel the rain pouring. I can feel each individual raindrop hit and then disappear back into oblivion... Am I feeling sad? Strange.

My friends are celebrating my return and here I am sad about it. 

"It's a beautiful day today..."

Perhaps... it isn't sadness, but instead... worry.


	5. Pandora's Box 5

Eugene's POV

Something's off... 

It feels like something critical is missing...

Wait...

"Um- Where's Gray?" (Eugene)

"Uh... good question..." (Gerard)

Here we are having a party for Gray and Gray isn't even here.

"Hold on, I'm going to go look for him." (Eugene)

I know I saw him earlier so he can't be far. Actually, what am I doing? I could just text him! 

["Gray, where are you?"]

["Outside, by the tree."]

["What are you doing outside?]

["Getting a breath of fresh air."]

Fresh air? I mean, I guess that makes sense. He was stuck in a hospital for so long, it must have gotten stuffy in there after all that time. I should still go check on him.

Oh, I can see him from the window. His hair is doing that weird thing again... That thing where his hair just literally sparkles in the wind. Can this window open to the outside?

Ah... it can. 

"Gray!"

"Oh..." 

He looks troubled. Should I let him have his space? 

Ah... I'm too worried, I need to ask him if he's okay.

Will I even fit through this window? It's so high up. I don't have any upper body strength. I can't get a proper footing on this slick wall-

"What are you doing?" (Teddy)

"Um... I uh... I'm trying to get through the window... to reach Gray." (Eugene)

"Dude, just get a chair. It'll be way easier to reach the window from there." (Teddy)

"Ah... right."

Yeah, he's right. I'm so stupid sometimes, just overcomplicating things. Ha... 

So much easier...

"Um... Gray?" 

"Hmm?"

"Are you... okay?"

"I am fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Confident."

"Well... okay, I believe you. Come on. This isn't a party without you."

"I'm not crawling on the ground."

"Uh... ah... right."

Yeah, right. He's a very clean person. Of course, he wouldn't want to crawl in through the window.

"Then I'll go with you." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray POV

Right, I can't show that I'm worried. It will cause the others to worry as well. Plus I don't really have an answer for if they were to ask what has me worried. Simply saying, "It's just a feeling." Or anything else along those lines would leave plenty of room for over speculation and panic. At the same time it also leaves plenty of room for dismissal as nothing more than a bad feeling. I don't expect justifying my paranoia with saying that my hunches are very rarely wrong would work either. On that note, I can't help but wonder just what my hunch is about. It feels like the issue is going to be building slowly and that it's not something that will just simply disappear. 

I am going to have to push these thoughts aside for now. They conflict with the current event and I don't plan on infringing upon my friends effort to make me feel welcome. I must show my appreciation for now, as there is no need to spread unnecessary panic. 

Just focus on something that deserves your time. The upcoming Olypiad and my friends... Yes, I can study while spending time with them at their party. Doing this will filter all my energy that is wasted on worrying into studying, a far more efficient use of energy. It will keep me looking normal and keep my friends from worrying about me like Eugene. 

There is no need to cause panic for unknown reasons. I will address the issue when I know what my hunch is on about.


	6. Pandora's Box 6

Teddy POV

They've been gone for a while now... Don't tell me they're taking the long way. Did they not want to come back in through the window? Why? Were they scared of getting some dirt on themselves? Maybe they went grocery shopping. No, that'd be pointless. I already brought coke and chips and Eugene brought cake and party hats. Rowan brought a "happy birthday" banner for some reason. Ben and Alex brought board games and Gerard seems to be eyeing up the guitar so I think he's going to play music or something. 

Where are they? 

"Are you okay?" 

"Eh?" 

Oh, it's Gerard. Looks like he has the guitar. 

"Just wondering where Gray and Eugene are."

"Hmm... not sure. Where did you see them last? Perhaps they are still there."

"Dude, the last time I saw either of them Eugene was crawling through the window, and Gray was outside."

"Uhh... why was Eugene crawling through the window?"

"That window, the one right there. Eugene crawled through it to get to Gray." 

"Okay, if he was trying to get to Gray, then it makes more sense."

"And then they didn't come back through the window."

"Well, this is both Eugene AND Gray that we are talking about here. Gray is a very clean person, he won't get dirt on himself if he can avoid it." 

Wait, so he really was scared of getting dirt on himself? Really? No, not him, no no. That guy probably doesn't even feel fear. Like Gerard said, he probably just doesn't want dirt on himself.

"They're probably taking the long route through the building." 

"Yeah, sounds about right." 

"Actually, quick question."

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to play that?"

"I uh... no..." 

"Then what are you doing with it then?"

"Ah... nothing..."

What is he being shy now? Maybe he's a beginner with the guitar and wants to practice it. Like he's just bad at it still and doesn't want to play it for an audience just yet. Makes sense, I wouldn't want to try and show off something that's nowhere near complete. 

"Teddy!" (Rowan)

"What?" (Teddy)

"Come help me hang this up!" (Rowan)

"Hold on, I talking to- oh." 

Gerard just left. 

He took the guitar with him. I bet my guess was right.

*sigh*

"Alright, what was it that you wanted?" 

"This thing, help me hang it up for Gray."

Oh my god.

"Rowan, please don't tell me that you actually think it's Gray's birthday."

"What? It isn't? Wait, what are we celebrating then?"

"Gray's return from the hospital."

"Well, then uh... help me change the banner."

"... Okay dude, whatever."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Philip POV

I'm trapped. Stuck with my enemies. The person that hates me the most here is definitely Teddy Jin. I wouldn't be surprised if he hates me just as much as Miles Joo. For sure, he is holding his grudge against me and I don't think he'll ever drop that grudge. I don't even have my rank anymore. Donald Na has no reason to help me. I'm fucking stuck here. What the hell am I supposed to do? And back to Teddy, he runs my fucking classroom! I'm here on my own. I don't expect my stupid entourage to stick around either. Afterall, that one idiot Chad Jang flat out abandoned Teddy the moment he thought I had power. Now that my bluff has been exposed there's no reason for them to stick around me other than for my money. Once they see someone else who's willing to humor them and that has enough power to entice them, they will leave me in the dust. Even if Teddy wasn't here, there's still White Mamba and Ben Park. They're in control of the school! 

I have no where to go, and I have no one to turn to.

This is it.

This is the end.

I don't even think-

I-

Is it worth living from this point on? 

I planned for my entire future to be in the Union. 

I am dependent on the Union. 

I... I...


	7. Pandora's Box 7

Ben POV

"'Happy Gray?'" (Ben)

"Yep!" (Rowan)

"Did that used to be a birthday sign?" (Alex)

"Yep! And thanks to my ingenuity, I just knew that it'd be perfect for this occasion. I carefully looked through so many party supplies to find the perfect sign. Aren't I the best?" (Rowan)

"Lies, you thought it was Gray's birthday. You even had me help try to change the sign because you had no idea what to do with it." (Teddy)

"Play along!" (Rowan)

"No thanks." (Teddy)

"Hahaha! You dorks. Ha, I think he'll love it." (Ben)

"Right." (Alex)

Knock knock...

"Gray?" (Alex)

Eugene opened the door and Gray walked in.

"What is that?" (Gray)

"It's a banner celebrating your release from the hospital." (Rowan)

"I see..." (Gray)

[That's the birthday banner that Rowan bought after I said not to.] (Eugene)

"And why are you all crowding around the door?" (Gray)

"We were waiting for you. We can't do a party for you without you now can we?" (Ben)

"..." (Gray)

"Come on now Mr. Stoic. You've got some celebrating to catch up on." (Ben) 

"Okay." (Gray)

He brought his notes. Is he planning on studying all the way through the party? This kid, what are we going to do with you? Even when he was in the hospital he was studying. Maybe he finds studying fun. 

Oh! Alex is getting out Monopoly. Good thinking Alex, Gray might actually like this game. It requires thinking and stuff to win. Wait... Alex no put the game back we're going to lose by ridiculous margins! 

"Gray, do you want to play Monopoly?" (Alex)

Ha, oh well. It is Gray's party, he deserves to win.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

Fly too close to the sun and your wings of wax will melt, likewise, fly too close to the sea and your wings will be pulled down by the weight of the sea. The result of each action is drowning in the sea. Thus it is best to stay at a perfect equilibrium where you won't be burned and you won't be pulled down. I am not a fool like that of Icarus. I will balance this flight correctly and not give in to petty emotions. Managing my wealth, I will buy that hotel in the red and get the nearby orange one as well without going bankrupt. I'd like to buy the whole strip, but such an action adds up to the entirety of my wealth removing me from the game. I will have to settle for these two buildings for now and aim for the other red and orange spaces on the next corner of the board. Ben and Teddy are behind me and will have increased odds of landing on my hotels and will owe me money. Assuming that all goes as planned, this game is mine. 

Rowan's POV

This is weird. They're just playing Monopoly and yet it feels so tense. It's the same feeling that comes from fighting. Serious. Like you're fighting for your life or something. This is so freaking cool! You go guys! 

Eugene's POV

Oh god, oh god, oh god... he's putting off that aura again. He's aiming to win no matter what. He's way too scary when he gets this way. 

Teddy's POV

I can feel it... the weight of all my fears... I'm almost drowning in it. Gray, what are you doing? What are you planning? 

Alex's POV

This game feels weirdly tense, like I can't win or something. What the heck guys, it's just a game. 

Ben's POV

Heh, I can already feel my defeat. Good to see you're having fun Gray. You actually put down your notes just for this. 

Gray's POV

Yes, this game was always mine...


	8. Pandora's Box 8

Donald's POV

I've gone over my notes

Memorized every method.

Repeated the same problems over and over again.

I even made extra time in my work for studying. 

I am ready for this. 

The school has arranged for buses to take the students to the Olympiad, but I already arranged for my own ride. Kingsley will drive me via limo to the Olympiad an hour before I need to be there. Once I arrive I will find my seat and then return to my ride to quickly go over my notes one more time to make sure that there is no room for failure. 

I can feel the anticipation... I'm so excited. I've been waiting for this since I got second last year. I just can't accept getting silver, I need gold. Any form of failure, even in the slightest, just feels wrong. I only win. No losses, whatsoever. 

I'm ready to take back my loss and fix it. I'm ready to win. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

What the heck? Is that Eunjang? There's only about two or three of them, but it's still odd. They didn't even attempt to join last year so why are there so many this year? They aren't exactly known for being smart. Perhaps their newfound confidence has come from the rise of Ben Park and White Mamba. They seem lost. This whole thing must be new to them seeing as how their school has never entered any events like this before. It looks like the person who was assigned to help them also looks like he doesn't know what he's doing. Wait... Now it looks like they're following someone. Weird. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

So there are four. Is this who they were following? Look at him. He's the perfect description of Eunjang; tiny, fragile, and weak. Ha! And look at his hair, silver. 

He's turning around and... 

And... 

[I only turned around because I felt someone's eyes burning into the back of my skull. Who's that? An albino with tattoos. His aura is very threatening. Interesting... I don't know why, but...] (Gray)

He looks like a girl. Very pretty... Are his eyes pink or purple? Does it matter? 

He reminds me of myself when I was stuck on the streets. It's like looking into the past. It's a very odd feeling. I don't want this reminder. Don't remind me of my past. Stop staring. It's so painful. Forget what I have already thought, this kid isn't the perfect representation of Eunjang. He's a damn near-perfect mirrored image of my past self minus the poverty. I don't like this. Look away, look away because I can't. 

[It's like looking into a reflection of the future. It's as if I took a bite out of Adam and Eve's apple. He's staring...] (Gray)

Fuck...

I'm not mentally prepared for this shit. 

Did he just wave? 

[If neither of us is going to break eye contact, then I guess I should do some form of a greeting. Is he not going to wave back?] (Gray)

He looks confused. 

Okay, I shouldn't be freaking out. I shouldn't even be comparing him to my past self. I don't even know him. His appearance just freaked me out. 

I should probably wave back and get my thoughts in order. 

The competition is about to start. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

I know that it was required for the school to send a guardian of some kind with us, but he really is useless. To the very least, he tries. He obviously doesn't know what he's doing. He is literally following me around and asking me where we are supposed to go. These are things that he was supposed to have looked into before having come here. As for the other three students that came here with me, they are also blindly following me around. Thank goodness I took note of the location of the bus before I had to lead everyone to where we get our assigned seats. 

I need to check my phone.

...

No messages. 

Good. 

That means there are no emergencies. 

Calm down. 

It's okay. 

They're all alright. 

I'm alright. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

This Olympiad is definitely mine. I know I was a bit freaked out at the beginning because of that random pretty boy, but I managed to put him out of my mind for the entire Olympiad. I knew the mass majority of the answers. Honestly, thinking about it now, I believe there were only one or two questions I didn't know the answer's to. Beautiful. I feel wonderful. 

...

Hmm...

... 

It's still very odd that Eunjang let themselves into the Olympiad. Eunjang just really isn't known for being involved in anything like the Olympiad. The only things that they ever really involved themselves with were sporting events. Why the hell did they suddenly have that big of a change of heart? And again with that tiny little pretty boy. So cute, but so infuriating. How dare you remind me of my past. I know you can't control if you remind me of the past, but god damn it! How dare you! 

Eunjang's just made a habit of bothering me on all levels now haven't they? I'm feeling so many emotions that it's confusing me. 

Oh... is that?

Yes it is. 

It's that pretty boy. He looks distressed. He either did poorly in this test, or, seeing as how there's nobody else near him, he's horribly lost. I'm going to talk to him. His behavior is going to be very far from mine and I will stop associating him with my past self.


	9. Pandora's Box 9

Donald's POV

[... It's the albino from earlier. Why is he approaching?] (Gray)

"Hi, I'm Donald Na. Nice to meet you." (Donald)

[Donald Na? I feel like I've heard that name before, but where?] (Gray)

"Hello." (Gray)

[Who the heck is this?]

"Hm... are you not going to introduce yourself? That's a little rude, don't you think?" (Donald)

"..." (Gray)

Huh, this kid really has no intention of introducing themself. Actually, that does make sense. Seeing as how he's not freaking out right now, he doesn't know who I am. Honestly, even if he did know who I was, he would probably still be looking at me like this. Someone he doesn't know has just randomly started talking to him. Ha!

"So, why were you staring?" (Donald)

"Why were you staring?" (Gray)

Uh- that's... that's fair. 

"What makes you so confident that I was staring at you?" (Donald)

"I never said you were staring at me." (Gray)

Wow, so much backtalk. He's making me angry. 

"Kid, are you sure you want to talk to me that way?" (Donald)

"Mr. 'Na', I have no idea who you are. I think it is very clear that I don't know who you are. If you don't like how this conversation is going, then you can always leave. I won't stop you, nor do I want to." (Gray)

"Oh really now?" (Donald)

"Mhmm." (Gray) 

How does he say all of this so confidently? He is at a complete disadvantage here. I blatantly have him beat in strength and height without even having to try. Even my image is made to instill fear into my opponents. This one is very... weird... 

"And what's that you're reading there?" (Donald) 

If I want to continue this conversation, I'm going to have to change the topic. 

"... This is a calculus book. It just has a cover on it to protect it." (Gray) 

"Oh, let me see that." (Donald)

Finally, something that I can work with. 

... 

This kid doesn't need my help at all. 

"This is... really nice." (Donald)

Okay, I can definitely scratch the idea that he did poorly off of the list of reasons why he'd look so worried. Although, he still could have convinced himself that he did poorly. 

This really isn't helping me stop associating him with my past self. 

He's staring again. Does he want his book back? 

"..." (Gray) 

[It looks like he's enjoying this.] (Gray)

"You're staring again~" (Donald)

"No, I'm waiting for my book." (Gray)

It seems I was right. 

"Haha... sure. Here." (Donald)

[This guy is toying with me. It's annoying.] (Gray) 

"Actually, how about you tell me your name and I give you your book back." (Donald)

[Did he really just wink while saying that?] (Gray)

"So you're holding my book hostage?" (Gray)

Oh, he didn't like that. He looks so annoyed. 

"Give me my book." (Gray)

"Give me your name." (Donald)

[I will not be forced into submission.] (Gray)

"Give me my book." (Gray)

Oh, he doesn't want to give me his name at all. He has so much attitude. He's aggravating at times, but at the same time, he's so much fun to annoy. I also already know that I won't be able to let it go if I leave things here where I'm reminded of my past self by him. Alright, I'm going to do it. 

"Hey kid, give me your pen." (Donald)

"... okay?" (Gray)

[What's he writing down?] (Gray) 

"Let's continue this another time." (Donald)

"What?" (Gray)

[He's just walking away after giving me my book back... What did he even write?] (Gray)

{XXX-XXX-XXXX}

"..." (Gray)


	10. Not a Chapter 1

Just me putting out some of my theories. Note that some of my theories have already let themselves into the past chapters. 

Theories-

I expect shit to hit the fan the moment that Gray Yeon and Donald Na meet. I have a weird theory that the mass majority of the Weak Hero characters that we have seen so far have a mirrored version of themself. A "What if" scenario for each person. Sometimes these what if's will indirectly answer other character's questions. I've already drawn several links between different characters for various reasons. Some of them are farfetched and are way out there with very little ground to stand on, but I believe in them fully. I will probably talk about who I think all the "what if's" are in another Not Chapter. 

Ex. "What If," What if Donald didn't grow up poor and didn't have to live fighting on the streets? He'd have ended up like Gray who never had to fight until his last year of middle school. My evidence being Donald's flashback to when he was ___ years old eating bread after having utilized a brick, a weapon, to break into the store. 

I've made more links other than just between these two, I'll post the rest later in the day if you want, but note that there won't be another chapter that goes up with it after later in the day. 

I don't actually think that Weak Hero will be over with the defeat of Donald Na. I also highly doubt that he'd disappear just because he was defeated once. The first chapter of the webtoon cements that Gerard, Alex, Ben, and Gray will come together and become legends of Eunjang High. There was never a definite timeframe given for when this will happen. What we could be witnessing now is their individual paths taken before whatever event that it is that requires them to come together. My current expectations are that Gerard will achieve becoming an idol and that will be what makes him a legend. Gray will become a major head in some business, government, or a full-on leader of some kind and that will be his claim to fame. And I don't know what Ben and Alex will be. Some major event could happen that forces them to come together to combine their achievements and powers to take down this threat. And yes I know this theory is a bit out there. 

Manwol will come back in some way. I don't think we'd get some random villains for a background story explaining Donald's rise to power and Jake Ji's backstory. They will come back in some way or another, I don't know how or what they will be doing, but they will come back. I also don't think that they'll be the only gang that exists. They could even be existing outside of Yeongdengpo. 

I might have more ideas later, but I will leave this here for now.  
Also, these not chapters will pop up whenever I feel like talking about theories or whatever else.  
These are all of the chapters I'm posting today, posting will be normal from here on.


	11. Pandora's Box 10

Gray's POV

Should I text him? I don't know him, but I know I've heard his name before and that it's important. I could just add him to my contacts and leave it at that. Damn... where have I heard his name before? 

Fuck it, I'll just text him. That way I'll have his phone number and he'll have mine. If he turns out to be a creep, I'll just block him. He looked rich so I doubt that'll be his only phone so I'll change my phone number to. 

{.} (Gray)

{What the heck?} (Donald)

{Who is this?} (Donald)

{The kid with silver hair.} (Gray)

{You still need to tell me your name.} (Donald)

... Right... I still haven't told him my name. Fine. I'll tell him. 

{Gray.} (Gray)

{Good.} (Donald)

[So his name is Gray.] (Donald)

There's no need to text him anymore. If he wants to talk, it's going to be onesided. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy POV

Gray should be coming back soon. It's just Eugene, Rowan, and I waiting for him. Gerard said he had something he had to do at this time and Ben and Alex had already made plans to go to the pool house before hand. Our current plan is to take Gray to the arcade to cool off after the Olympiad. That shit must be fucking stressful. I already feel like pulling my hair out on a normal test, I can only imagine how it is doing some massive thing like that. 

"*Gasp* Guys, Gray just texted me!" (Eugene)

"What did he say? What did he say?" (Rowan)

"The Olympiad is over and he's on his way back." (Eugene)

"Just that? Nothing else?" (Teddy)

"Yeah, that's all he said." (Eugene)

"Yeah, that sounds about right. It's not like anything that interesting is going to be happening in a place full of nerds." (Teddy)

"Dude, Gray isn't a nerd. He's a genius!" (Rowan)

"I wasn't counting Gray!" (Teddy)

Gray is far too scary to be a nerd. Calling him something like that would be a foolish thing to do. Thank goodness he wasn't here to hear that.

"I would never call Gray a nerd. He is way more than that!" (Teddy)

"Woah, calm down Teddy. I didn't mean anything by it." (Rowan)

What I would call Gray, is a demon. A demon who for whatever reason forgave me for attacking him. A freak who let me in to his friend group. 

"Forget it. I don't care." (Teddy)

[I think Rowan accidentally hit a nerve.] (Eugene)

"Yo, ask Gray when he'll be here." (Rowan)

"Um... right!" (Eugene)

...

"Okay, he says that he'll that his current estimation is an hour, but the traffic is acting up so that number may rise." (Eugene)

"Dudes, I think we should get something to eat." (Rowan)

"I could order pizza." (Eugene)

"Ah no-" (Rowan)

"And I have some coke in my locker." (Teddy)

"No guys, I mean like physically we should go get something to eat." (Rowan)

"Uh... I guess you're right. He did say it would be an hour or more before he gets here." (Eugene)

"Okay then, where should we go." (Teddy)

[My shuttle instincts are tingling... ] (Rowan)

[Somewhere nearby there is...] (Eugene)

[A bakesale!] (Eugene/Rowan)

"Rowan, you can feel it to right?" (Eugene)

"My old shuttle instincts would never fail me... I feel it fully!" (Rowan)

"That way!!!" (Eugene/Rowan)

What the heck are they doing? They're both pointing in opposite directions. 

"Uh... Rowan... w-what are you pointing at?" (Eugene)

"Nothing." (Rowan)

And he just switches the direction he's pointing to the same direction as Eugene. Of course. Rowan, you are so nonsensical sometimes. 

"Let's go!" (Rowan)

"Uh, yeah!" (Eugene)

"Sure." (Teddy)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eugene POV

Delicious pastries, so many delicious pastries. 

Ha~ I've always wanted to try these. I remember so many years of having to go to places like this as a snack shuttle and having to buy them for bullies. I always had to save my money for them. It was the worst. Now, thanks to Gray, I get to spend my money how I want. I've never had such peace before. 

"How the hell did you know about this? This is so far from the way to the school." (Teddy)

"It's our marvelous instincts. We are amazing!" (Rowan)

It's snack shuttle instincts... 

"Ha, sure." (Teddy)

"Alright, let's get something for everyone." (Eugene)

"I've got Gray and Gerard." (Teddy)

"Really? Okay then, um... I'll get something for Ben and Alex." (Eugene)

"No dude, let me get Ben and you get Alex, I'm going to help pay." (Rowan) 

"Um... okay." (Eugene)

"Hey, I'm paying too." (Teddy)

"Ah... thanks..." (Eugene)


	12. Pandora's Box 11

Gray's POV

We're very close to Eunjang now. We'll be there very shortly. I can see my friends walking to the school. Why are they carrying a box? I guess I'll have to wait for them. 

...

Did I just get a text?

...

Oh, it's them. 

{Gray, was that you?} (Eugene)

{Yes, what's in the box?} (Gray)

{It's a surprise. Sorry that you're going to have to wait for us.} (Eugene)

{It's okay, you're bringing me a surprise so I have no reason to complain.} (Gray)

...

I have a missed message as well...

Oh, it's from that guy again. 

{When you have time, let's talk more.} (Donald)

...

I guess I'll talk to him when I get home. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy POV

I got a donut with chocolate frosting and cream filling for myself, a vanilla frosting donut with strawberry filling for Gray, and a donut with maple frosting for Gerard. Chocolate and cream because I wanted it, strawberry and vanilla because they're almost Gray's colors, and maple because of maple trees for Gerard. 

Eugene got a plain doughnut for himself and a cream-filled doughnut for Alex and Rowan got a chocolate strawberry filled doughnut for himself and a chocolate cream-filled doughnut for Ben. I don't know their reasoning behind their choices, but whatever. 

We saw Gray's bus pass us so he should be waiting for us right now. I hope he likes it. Eugene volunteered to drop the rest of the doughnuts off for the rest of the guys. I need to check on Co after we get Gray so I can't go with him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eugene POV

There's Gray. It looks like he's just patiently reading while waiting for us. 

"Gray!!!" (Rowan)

"..." (Gray)

"Um... how was the uh... the test?" (Eugene)

"We've got something for you." (Rowan)

"Hmm... I am confident I did good. And what did you bring me?" (Gray) 

"This." (Teddy)

[Strawberry filling and vanilla frosting... These are... his colors? It tastes good...] (Gray)

"Thank you..." (Gray)

[He seems distraught, does he not like it?] (Teddy)

He looks like he's enjoying it. (Eugene)

[Note to self, Gray loves strawberry and vanilla.] (Rowan)

[Nevermind, it seems he likes it.] (Teddy)

[... Why are they all staring at me so hard?] (Gray)

"So uh... I'm going to go deliver the rest of these. Take care!" (Eugene) 

"I'm going with you!" (Rowan)

[Shoot, everyone's leaving. Um...] (Teddy)

"I uh, I need to check on Co. Um- bye." (Teddy)

[I'm too scared to be alone with him. He's on a completely different level.] (Teddy)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben's POV 

"You guys are the best!" (Ben)

"Yeah, thanks!" (Alex)

Eugene and Rowan randomly dropped by the pool house to give us doughnuts. 

"Wait, where are you guys going? Play a round of pool with us." (Ben)

"Oh, uh... We have a doughnut for Gerard as well. We were going to go give it to him." (Eugene) 

"Come on, one round won't hurt. We could probably bring him coffee as well." (Rowan)

"Uh... okay." (Eugene)

"How did Gray do?" (Alex)

"He said he was confident that he did good." (Eugene)

"I hope he's right, he deserves it." (Alex)

"Hell yeah." (Ben)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Gerard POV

"Uh- thanks!" (Gerard)

This is unexpected. Eugene and Rowan brought me a doughnut and coffee. My preference is tea, but this is still really nice. 

"How did you guys find me?" (Gerard)

"We did some investigating. It was really difficult, but we pulled it off." (Rowan) 

[We just asked some random people and they helped us.] (Eugene)

"Well, thanks. I've never had this happen to me before." (Gerard)

"Teddy picked the doughnut, but he had to check on Co so he couldn't come with us." (Eugene)

"Who's Co?" (Gerard)

"His cat." (Rowan)

"Oh, so he takes care of animals?" (Gerard)

"Yeah, I guess so." (Eugene)

[I did see him feeding Co milk that one time.] (Eugene)

"That's good." (Gerard)

"Yep." (Rowan)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

... Should I text him?

There's nothing stopping me.

Text him?

He did ask to talk again soon. 

I'm going to text him. 

{Hi.} (Gray)

{So you're ready to talk?} (Donald)

{Yes, what do want to talk about.} (Gray)

{How about the Olympiad.} (Donald)

{How do you think you did?} (Donald)

The Olympiad? It does make sense to start there since that's where we encountered one another.

{My hope is to have placed. I do not lose so I must get the best score possible.} (Gray)

[The best score possible? So he wants first. Unfortunately for him, he's going to have to settle for second or less. First place is mine.] (Donald)

{I was thinking the same thing.} (Donald)

{Losing is unacceptable.} (Donald)

It seems that he won't settle for anything less than first. He wants the best and only the best. 

{So you plan on never losing? Then let's hope you did your best at the Olympiad.} (Gray)

{The same goes for you.} (Donald)


	13. Pandora's Box 12

Gray's POV

I've been getting random text messages from Donald. He has been asking me various odd questions. Questions about my typical behavior, what my interests are, what my GPA is, and at one point he even went as far as to ask if I have ever fought before. Most assume that I can't fight so I guess I'm almost happy that the thought would cross his mind. That doesn't change the fact that he's asking some very weird questions, most of which I refuse to answer. 

The scores from the Olympiad will be released soon. Donald seems to be really excited about that. 

Eugene was asking around for help with his aunt's veterinary clinic. Apparently they're trying to build a play area for pets that have to stay there for extended periods of time. The goal is to get the pets some exercise instead of just being constantly stuck in a cage. They're going to need something that can be sterilized easily and is safe enough for the animals to roam around. 

Eugene and I can't go because the time frame where the construction is happening interferes with our cram school's schedule.

Teddy, Alex, Ben, and Gerard volunteered to do it.

Teddy seems to be hoping to see kittens while at the clinic. I don't think his hope will come true. There's still the chance of seeing adult cats though. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy's POV 

Cats are balls of fluff sent from the heavens. They're just so cute! Will the clinic let me bring catnip and cat treats? Maybe even cat toys? No no no, some of those cats are waiting for treatments that require no food before operation I shouldn't bring any of that stuff. I'll just give it all to Co! Co will like that. I should ask if they take toy donations. I'm not sure if I can find that place again. I'll call Rowan, I know he's been down there before. I'll have him show me how to get there before I have to be there. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy's POV

"Rowan, it's this way right?" (Teddy)

"Yup! You're going to love it. Eugene's aunt is amazing, she can bring dead animals back to life. She is a saint."(Rowan)

"Uh yeah, I know. I've met her before." (Teddy)

Rowan exaggerates a lot. 

"Really? When did you do that?" (Rowan)

"Remember that time Hyeongshin tried to take down all of the Eunjang heads? And we all got split into two teams against them?" (Teddy)

"Yeah?" (Rowan)

"Well the reason I ended up on Ben and Alex's team is because I had Alex helping me take Co to the vet and I saw them try to gang up on him after we tried to go our separate ways." (Teddy)

"Wait, if you've been down here before how come you needed a guide?" (Rowan)

"Dude, I've only been down here once. I'm not going to remember the directions perfectly." (Teddy)

"Oh, right. That makes sense." (Rowan)

"Um... do they have any other cats there right now?" (Teddy)

"I don't know. We can ask when we get there." (Rowan)

"Right." (Teddy)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rowan POV

Damn, I should ask Eugene more about the events that happened before I got here. Small little things like that come back randomly. Heck, it would have helped to know about the drama that Philip started at the beginning of the year with Gray. I bet if I knew that Philip had been starting fights with Gray since the beginning of the year and then never moved to fight him himself, I might have been able to figure out his game without Teddy's help. Well, I mean, maybe. I'm not actually sure, but I like to believe that I could! Hey, I wonder if helping take down Philip made me and Teddy better friends? Maybe it made my friendship with Gray stronger as well seeing as how they were totally enemies. 

Oh, we're at the clinic.


	14. Pandora's Box 13

Teddy's POV

The vet clinic doesn't have any kittens in it at the moment. I was disappointed at first, but I guess that's a good thing. If there are no kittens at the vet then that means that there are no sick kittens. There were some cats at the vet and they will accept toy donations. I am going to buy cat toys for both Co and the vet clinic. Thinking about it now, should I become a vet? I could help animals and find more ways to take care of Co. Ah... I'll probably have to get better grades if I want to try to become a veterinarian. I don't know how to study... ha... what am I going to do? My dream is unachievable, isn't it? Whatever. Fine. I can still help animals, I'll just have to do something else. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

God damn it. 

...

Second? 

Second?!?

I excelled this year! And I did fucking amazing last year! I don't understand. Why did it happen again? Why did it happen in the first place?!? Arg... Calm down... it's not a big deal. 

Ugh... 

I feel so frustrated. I know I shouldn't, but I do. I just can't accept getting second. I know that I am coming off as arrogant, but it's just that I tried so hard. I spent so much time preparing for this. I need to know why I got second. I can't just be handed this and have no explanation as to why I didn't get first. I want to know what they did that was better than me so I can do better than them. 

Fuck... 

What about that kid? How did he do? 

{The Olympiad scores are out. How did you do? I got second.} (Donald) 

Let's send him a picture as well. It's harder to believe words without evidence.

{First.} (Gray)

... That... is the first place document. I already knew he was smart, but... 

What are the odds? The random kid that reminded me of myself so much so that I chose to give him my phone number is the grand prize winner. Weirdly, there's a part of me that isn't surprised. Somehow it feels like somewhere inside of me I expected it. 

{Gray, go to the library with me afterschool.} (Donald)

[What? That was very sudden. Um...] (Gray)

{Can't, I have cram school after school.} (Gray)

{After your cram school then. When do you get out?} (Donald)

[...] (Gray)

[Should I accept his invitation? I don't know him that well. It sounds like it'd just be the two of us. He also asked this immediately after he learned that I got first. He has been asking me so many questions throughout the week as well. What does he want?] (Gray)

[...] (Gray)

[I will accept it. If he tries anything though, I will kill him.] (Gray) 

{I get out at X:XX. I'll get on a bus to get to the library.} (Gray)

{I'll pick you up.} (Donald)

{No thanks, you don't need to pick me up. I prefer to find my own transportation.} (Gray) 

[I'm not sure if I can trust him with my friends yet. I will not repeat past mistakes and blindly trust someone who's just thrusting themself into my life. I'm going to have to try and avoid situations where they could meet for now.] (Gray)

{Then I'll be seeing you at the library.} (Donald)

Okay... so it's settled then. I'm going to meet Gray at the library and I'm going to study him to figure out what he did differently. I'll make a point to ask him about it as well. If he got first place in the Olympiad, then there's a good chance that he could be talented in many things. I should try to recruit him, make him my business colleague if he fits the role. 

Ha~ this day took a very unexpected turn. I wonder if he was also the one responsible for me not getting first last year as well. It wouldn't hurt to use this year and last year's Olympiad as a gateway conversation as to how he studied for them. It'd actually be relieving if it turned out that he was last year's winner as well. That'd mean that there is only one person that I have to become better than. Hm... no. It was a Byuksan student who got first last year. Byuksan didn't even place this year. That means that the student likely transferred away, graduated, or didn't participate this year. Therefore, assuming that last year's grand prize winner didn't just fail miserably this year, there are two people that I need to beat before I can call myself number one again. 

Alright, Gray, let's be friends~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, the "let's be friends" at the end is supposed to have a whole bunch of spacing between the words to make it feel a bit threatening, but it wouldn't let me do that so now it just looks normal.


	15. Pandora's Box 14

Teddy's POV

"Hey guys." (Teddy)

"Hi." (Gerard)

"Hey." (Alex)

"Teddy." (Ben)

"What's up guys." (Teddy)

"The sky." (Ben)

"Really?" (Teddy)

"Come on, you set yourself up. I had to." (Ben)

"What's that box you've got there?" (Alex)

"I was just about to ask that." (Ben)

"Nothing important, it's for the clinic." (Teddy)

"We should probably head inside and get started since we're all here." (Gerard)

"Probably." (Alex)

"You guys go on ahead, I need to stop at the front desk. I have something to drop off." (Teddy)

"Is it that box? Let me help." (Gerard)

"Oh- thanks." (Teddy) 

"So, what's in this? It's so big I thought that it'd be so much heavier than this." (Gerard)

"It's really not that important." (Teddy)

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We never learned the name of Eugene's aunt so let's just call her "Adellah"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh! These must be the pet toys you were talking about. Thank you so much. These will be wonderful for all of the animals." (Adellah)

"Right." (Teddy)

[Oh! So that's what's in this box. Eugene and Rowan did say that Teddy likes taking care of animals. It's no wonder that Teddy volunteered to help work on the play area for the animals.] (Gerard)

"You seem to know the desk lady. Do you come here often?" (Gerard)

"No, just a few times. That day Hyeongshin tried attacking all of us and yesterday." (Teddy)

"Really? You seem like you're very comfortable here." (Gerard)

"Oh uh..." (Teddy)

I like it here and I want to work here.

"I guess I must adjust to new places easily." (Teddy)

I don't think I'll ever be qualified to work here. 

[He seemed uncertain about that answer.] (Gerard)

"Hm." (Gerard)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex's POV

The veterinary clinic was expanded as much as possible with as little money possible while maintaining the best quality possible. The parts of the job that was leftover for volunteers to complete was painting, setting things up, and other really simple things like that. Ben and I should stay away from the painting because we have absolutely no artistic skills and will surely find a way to get past the paper coverings over the carpet. We should just stick to helping move stuff around. Maybe even help move some pets to the new rooms if they'll let us. Which they probably won't. 

"Alex!" (Ben)

"Eh-" (Alex)

"Let's do a paper carrying race!" (Ben)

"Ben, that's a terrible idea." (Alex)

"BUT I'M GOING TO WIN!!!" (Alex)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy's POV

White walls. It's just like Gray's hospital, but instead of helping people, it's helping animals. The idea of being a veterinarian is really weighing on my mind now. Maybe this is as close as I'll ever get to being a veterinarian, but I guess it still feels good. To have even the slightest taste of my dream is an accomplishment. 

[Teddy looks like he's really lost in thought. I don't think I've ever seen him like this before. Sure I haven't known him that long, but still.] (Gerard)

"Teddy?" (Gerard)

Yeah, I'm not smart like Gray, I'm just a normal person. I'm normal and I'm okay with that. My dream is too-

"Teddy!" (Gerard)

"Oh, sorry. What is it?" (Teddy)

"Are you okay?" (Gerard)

"Ah... yeah. It's not important." (Teddy)

"It doesn't seem that way. What's on your mind?" (Gerard)

Ah... what the heck. Why the fuck not. I'll tell him.

"I think I know what I want to do with my life, but it doesn't fucking matter because my dream is just flat out impossible for someone like me." (Teddy)

"An impossible dream, huh." (Gerard)

"Yeah." (Teddy)

"Well, what's your dream?" (Gerard)

"... I want to be a veterinarian." (Teddy)

"And what's stopping you?" (Gerard)

"I'm normal." (Teddy)

"... Hey." (Gerard)

"Yeah?" (Teddy)

"Is it okay if I tell you my dream?" (Gerard)

"Well, you listened to mine so... yeah." (Teddy)

"I want to perform for an audience." (Gerard)

Perform for an audience? Like an idol? Is that why he had that guitar? 

"Wait, do you mean you want to be an idol star?" (Teddy)

"Yes. It's a ridiculous dream and is most definitely unobtainable by someone normal like me." (Gerard)

Unobtainable for sure, and he's trying it anyway.

"It's okay to be normal and have big dreams. I feel like as long as you truly try to achieve your dreams then it will be worth the journey alone, even if those dreams don't come true." (Gerard)

"That..." (Teddy)

I guess it will be okay to try. It's not like anybody's going to try to stop me. There would literally be nothing to gain from stopping me.

"I think I should try to obtain my dream as well." (Teddy)

"... Actually... I've got an idea." (Teddy)

"Yeah?" (Gerard)

"How about if one of us achieves our dream, the other person has to throw them a party." (Teddy) 

"I feel like I'm losing already, but sure. Why not." (Gerard)

"Don't worry too much. It might end up being that neither of us gets to have our dreams come true." (Teddy)

"Ha, yeah..." (Gerard)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV 

Other than the staff, there is only him and I in this entire library. 

How did this even happen? Did he pay them to not let people in the building? Is he even rich enough to do something like that... actually, that's Versace. He was wearing Versace at that time too. Who the fuck is this? Okay, yeah, he definitely does have enough money to do something like that if he can afford to wear Versace every day. But what's the point? What is your intent? What are you trying to do?

"Hm~ You're staring again." (Donald)

"... What are you trying to do?" (Gray)

[He's asking questions immediately... Wow.] (Donald)

"I just want to study with you." (Donald)

"..." (Gray)

I feel very skeptical about his answer, but I don't think he's going to tell me what he really wants if I keep asking. 

"Come on, there's a very nice spot to read over here." (Donald)

This is... my favorite spot. I sit here all the time. 

[Most people don't come down here, not even the librarians. It's the most private spot in the library. It's a very tight space as well. I can literally look over his shoulder to see what he's doing if I want to.] (Donald)

"Um... hold on. I'll be back." (Gray)

[Is he trying to leave?] (Donald)

"Where are you going?" (Donald)

"The bathroom." (Gray)

That space is very closed off, nobody goes there. I'm going to grab the rest of the pens and pencils at the front desk. I don't feel comfortable being trapped without a weapon of some kind that I can use. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

He's coming back, right? 

No, they never do. People always say, "Wait here and I'll be back." They never come back. I should just go, he's not coming back. He left. He definitely left. 

Ha... calm down. Holy shit. He only went to the bathroom, he literally just left to go to the bathroom. 

"I'm back." (Gray)

See, he didn't leave. Stop jumping to conclusions, not every time someone leaves a room is like 'that time.' 

What the... 

Did he stuff his pockets with writing utensils? Why? What's the point? Is he planning on stealing them? This is a first. I'll just turn a blind eye for now. 

"Come here, I have several subjects that I want to go over with you." (Donald) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

English, Science, and Math... he's going over everything. Actually, it's more that he's having me go over everything. Is he trying to test me? It actually feels like the mass majority of the time he's looking over my shoulder instead of studying himself. He's staring even now! It's not like he's attacking me, but it's still uncomfortable and I don't like it. 

"Please stop doing that." (Gray)

"Hm~?" (Donald)

"You're looking over my shoulder." (Gray)

[Ha... I guess I'll tell him. He'd probably figure it out eventually anyway.] (Donald) 

"I'm studying you." (Donald)

"Um-" (Gray)

Studying me? He's not even going to try and hide it? 

"Pervert." (Gray)

"Pfft-hahaha! What?" (Donald)

[Is this how this kid normally treats people? I already know for sure that he doesn't know who I am so... What a weird-ass kid.] (Donald)

"Do you treat everyone like this? I'd be careful about that, not everybody will take kindly to your attitude." (Donald) 

"You're... not wrong... but I'm not changing my attitude." (Gray)

"Haha~ " (Donald)

[Based on that response, I bet he really does treat everyone like this. So does that mean he considers me one of his friends already? Is my job going to be easier than I thought it was going to be?] (Donald)

"Why would you even be trying to study me? I'm just reading right now." (Gray)

"Hm~ You got first in the Olympiad, I'm studying you to find out what you did to get first." (Donald)

The desire to succeed... I understand that.

"So you want to do better than me." (Gray)

[That was very direct.] (Donald)

"Yes." (Donald)

So that's why he invited me to the library. Makes sense, I would have done the same. 

"Fine then, stare all you want." (Gray)

Did he just get closer? Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

"Gladly~" (Donald)

"..." (Gray) 

Pervert.


	16. Pandora's Box 15

Alex's POV

Welp, we're screwed. We dropped the papers. Adellah isn't going to be happy. We're probably going to be stuck trying to organize all of this all day. Fortunately, most of them stayed in their folders when they fell so we're just trying to figure out where all of the loose papers go. 

"Um... maybe this goes with this?" (Alex)

"Maybe. Uh... this looks like numbers and stuff. Let's put this in that pile." (Ben)

"Right. This probably goes there too." (Alex)

"What about this, Alex?" (Ben)

"Uh... no idea." (Alex)

"Do you think Gray would know?" (Ben)

"Probably." (Alex)

"What are you doing?" (Teddy)

"... We messed up." (Alex)

"Any chance you're done with your tasks already?" (Ben)

"We finished a few minutes ago. Don't tell me you're going to ask us for help." (Teddy)

"Yeah, please help." (Ben) 

"Dude, just go tell the front desk that you messed up." (Teddy)

"You know what, why didn't we think of that? How much time have we wasted here?" (Ben)

"About thirty minutes." (Alex)

"Right, I'm going to go tell Adellah." (Teddy)

"So... how did you manage to get these papers to span the hallways from the office all the way to here?" (Gerard)

"Paper carrying race." (Ben)

"What?" (Gerard)

"I tripped and grabbed Ben in an attempt to get back up. He just ended falling down with me." (Alex)

"Alright then..." (Gerard)

"Oh dear, oh no." (Adellah)

"Sorry Adellah." (Alex)

"Ah- what papers were these?" (Adellah)

"I think we got them off of the desk next to the pet cages. They're not super important are they?" (Ben)

"Those are lists of things that need to bought for the pets and required treatments." (Adellah)

"We're going to be sorting these papers for a while, aren't we?" (Ben)

"Yes." (Adellah)

*Sigh* (Gerard, Teddy, Ben, Alex, Adellah)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

"..." (Gray)

This hasn't been as bad as I expected it to be. He hasn't overstepped his boundaries and has just been watching me read, he hasn't even said a word. It's peaceful. 

"Um- we're closing the library. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave..." (???) 

Is that the pool house part-timer? Why is she here? Wait, what time is it?

It's 10:00 P.M. 

The library should have closed hours ago. Why did they let us stay for so long? 

"Donald, come on, let's go." (Gray) 

"My oh my~ are you trying to lead me around now?" (Donald)

"... The bus will be here soon." (Gray)

"The bus? I have a better idea. How about you come with me instead and I give you a ride home." (Donald) 

... Accept his offer? He was being good the entire time we were here...

I don't think he's going to try anything. 

"... Okay." (Gray)

"Perfect." (Donald)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald (POV)

Look at his face. His eyes are so wide. He really didn't expect me to call a limo in even the slightest. Honestly, why would he expect it? 

[Limo? Travel by limo? I already knew he was rich, but still. He wants me to get inside of a limo. Thank goodness my parents aren't in town, if they were to see me getting dropped off in a limo by some random rich guy that's covered in tattoos and is wearing Versace they'd never stop questioning me.] (Gray)

"Come on, get in." (Donald)

"Uh-..." (Gray)

"Come on~" (Donald)

[I already accepted his offer. I shouldn't just stand here in shock.] (Gray)

Here we go~ 

"Alright, what's your address?" (Donald)

"... XXX..." (Gray)

"Okay, XXX. Get us there." (Donald)

He looks a tad bit uncomfortable. I see... he has never been inside of anything as expensive as this. He doesn't know how to react. That's okay if we're going to be friends, he's going to get used to this. Once he gets used to it, he'll love it. 

Wait...

He's just going to read the entire trip? He does look more comfortable. I do plan on bringing him with me to places other than the library as well so should I start bringing books for him? He does look like he enjoys reading. Okay. I'll bring him some books to read the next time I take him somewhere. 

Now that I think about it, I don't think he had that book before. Did he grab that book from the library? What is he even reading? He really looks like he's enjoying it. Hm...

[He's getting closer again. Why is he getting closer when there is so much space in this limo?] (Gray) 

He's staring again. Why? He isn't even paying attention to his book anymore. 

[He's sitting right next to me now. He's also looking over my shoulder again. Does he like watching me read? Weirdo.] (Gray)

"Hm... what are you reading?~" (Donald)

"... It's just another calculous book." (Gray)

"Is this what you like reading? Math books?" (Donald)

"I don't discriminate on what I read. If it exists, I will eventually read it." (Gray)

"So you'll read anything?" (Donald)

"Yes." (Gray)

I guess it won't matter what books I bring him then. 

"Another question, why are you always staring?" (Donald)

"Why are you so fixated on if someone is staring at you or not?" (Gray)

"Hahaha~ so much attitude. Are you dodging my question?" (Donald)

"Tch. I'm staring because you keep randomly getting closer." (Gray)

Uh... 

"Don't give me that face. You literally went from one side of the limo all the way to here." (Gray)

He's... not wrong. 

Ah... so that's why he was staring. I got too close for comfort. He looks like he's somewhat angry now. 

"And what about my question? Are you just going to ignore it?" (Gray)

"Yes." (Donald)

"..." (Gray)

[Jerk.] (Gray)

And with the turn of a head, he starts ignoring me. Such an attitude... If anybody else did this, I'd get angry, but when he does it, it reminds me of my old self. 

"We've arrived." (Kingsley)

"Then I'll be seeing myself out." (Gray) 

"Wait." (Donald)

"?" (Gray)

[He's way too close...] (Gray)

"Tomorrow, same place and the same time. I'll be seeing you~" (Donald)

".......Okay." (Gray)

I can do everything I need to do before spending time with him. I can turn the time that I spend with him into my studying time as well. I should bring Kingsley as well; after all, I'm already making plans to keep this kid. 

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, who was that?" (Kingsley)

"A new friend." (Donald)

[Donald making friends?] (Kingsley)

"I take it we'll be seeing him again?" (Kingsley)

"Yes." (Donald)

[Donald doesn't do anything without some kind of importance to it- I wonder what his plan for that kid is...] (Kingsley)

That kid, with the exception of wealth, is exactly like how I used to be. He ignored my question regarding if he could fight so there's nothing to suggest that he's good with fighting just yet, and I don't plan on putting him in a situation to fight. If I do that he'll definitely find out and will never trust me again. I want to keep him with me as my friend for now. 

On another note, I still need to get rid of his school's heads. Ben Park and White Mamba might assume that he's a spy if they learn that he has been with me. I don't think Ben Park will hurt the kid, but I don't know about White Mamba. I'll just have the kid let me know if anyone's giving them trouble... No, if he's anything like me, he's going to try to stand up to them the moment they even try to hurt him. I'll have to take care to watch for injuries popping up on him because there is no way that he'll tell me that they tried to hurt him. 

I can crush Ben by using Jake. They are the same in power so regardless of who wins, the victor will be in too weak of a state to continue fighting. They could be easily crushed by a smaller team after. White Mamba I want to know more about before I make a move on. If I can convince him to join the Union then I'd have effectively driven a wedge into their school. He could be my spy, making sure that Ben is behaving and not trying anything stupid. Best case scenario the entire school caves in on itself through civil war. If it gets too out of control then I'll have my friend transferred here. Actually, I should do that anyway. That'd keep him out of trouble entirely and I wouldn't have to worry about those bastards hurting him. 

It's perfect, I'll do just that.


	17. Pandora's Box 16

Ben's POV

"Finally, freedom at last! To the pool house!" (Ben)

"I hope the part-timer will be there." (Alex)

"Who?" (Teddy)

"They had a pretty part-timer working there for a while. I'm pretty sure she quit out of fear." (Gerard)

"What was she afraid of?" (Teddy)

"Uh... I think I know..." (Ben)

"Yeah, it was definitely that 'incident.'" (Gerard)

"Why do I feel so uninformed?" (Teddy)

"Just- just don't worry about it. That's already over and done with..." (Alex)

[I don't think he's just going to let this go because you asked him to...] (Gerard)

[Why did the atmosphere suddenly tank? Was it something I said?] (Teddy)

"You know, maybe we shouldn't go there." (Ben)

"No, it's okay. We can still go." (Alex)

"Are you sure?" (Ben)

Is it really a good idea to take him to somewhere where he was beaten by that asshole? 

"Yes, let's go to the pool house." (Alex)

"Hey guys, I hate to ruin your plans, but there is a serious flaw in your plan. It's 10 P.M. right now, the pool house probably closes in like 30 minutes. We're walking, we'll never get there in time." (Teddy)

"Oh... yeah..." (Ben)

"How about the arcade then!" (Ben)

This is actually good, if Alex is actually just lying for us then he won't have to be miserable. Plus I get to show off what Gray has taught me. 

"Arcade? Hell yeah! You bitches better be ready to be annihilated!" (Teddy)

"Ohho~ are you sure about that? I challenge you to Tekken, I'm playing Kingman." (Alex)

There we go, now he's in a better mood. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Gray's POV

I want to sleep, but I can't. I don't know why. The bed is comfortable, I'm tired, and it's dark enough to fall asleep, but I can't fall asleep. 

Is it a bad feeling? Is it confusion regarding everything that has happened so far? Should I just study until I pass out? Thank goodness it's not a school night. I don't think I would be able to stay awake in class with the amount of sleep that I'm going to get tonight. 

Should I try texting someone? Who? I don't think my friends are irresponsible enough to be awake right now. Actually, scratch that, I'm pretty sure Teddy would be irresponsible enough to be outside at dark. I doubt he is right now though, he was with Ben so he's probably home right now. He still needs to give me his number. Thinking about it now, how is it that I have some random guy's number and not my friends? I should ask him about it tomorrow. 

Okay, Teddy is out of the question because I don't even have his number. Ben, Alex, and Gerard I am pretty sure are too responsible to be awake right now. Eugene and Rowan I personally forced into a proper sleep schedule... sh-should I text Donald? Would it be weird to start a conversation with him only an hour after he left? I'm not used to this... 

{Hey~} (Donald)

What the hell.

{Are you still awake?} (Donald)

What is this guy's timing?

{Yes, why?} (Gray)

{Hey Gray!} (Ben)

Uh... what.

{Welcome to the group chat!} (Eugene) 

Group chat for Eugene, Rowan, Ben, Alex, Gerard, and me? 

And what the fuck is that? A knock at the door?

"Um... Gray! It's uh, it me. Teddy." (Teddy)

What the fuck!?! 

"Teddy, how did you find my house?" (Gray)

"I don't know?" (Teddy)

"What do you mean you don't know?!?" (Gray)

"I don't know! I don't know!" (Teddy)

{Gray, come read for me~} (Donald)

Uh-

{How am I supposed to do that through a screen?} (Gray)

Why the fuck am I replying to a text when Teddy randomly showed up at my house? Wait, where the heck did he go??? 

"Teddy? Where are you?" (Gray)

"Meet Co, this is my cat that Rowan told you about." (Teddy)

"What the- where the heck was that? Why did you bring a cat to my house completely unannounced? Why did you show up completely unannounced?" (Gray) 

{Gray, we're playing soccer. Come play with us!} (Alex)

It's dark out! Why are they playing soccer in the dark? 

{We could always zoom chat~} (Donald)

{No time for that right now. I need to deal with something.} (Gray)

"Here, hold Co." (Teddy)

"Wait, no. I don't-" (Gray)

"Read for me Gray~" (Donald)

"What the hell? Why are you at my house as well?" (Gray)

Okay, at least I know how this one knows where I live. Is that a calculus book?

"Gray, we're having a sleepover at your house now!" (Ben)

"I brought drinks." (Gerard)

I don't want that salad drink-

"Gray~ Please~" (Donald)

"What- n-no not right now-" (Gray)

Not next to my ear, that's too close! Way too close!!!

"Shit- I hit the TV!" (Alex)

Why are they playing soccer in my living room?!? The TV! My parents will kill me! 

"Co! Not the curtains!" (Teddy)

My house! My home!!! My cleanliness!!!!!

"Eyo! We're not late to the party are we?" (Rowan)

"I-I hope we're not late." (Eugene)

Not more! I can't take any more!

"Ffvvaaa- Nnnnng...... STOP!!!"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gray's POV

"Ha... ha... wha...?" 

I feel... sick... Was that a fever dream? 

My forehead... feels very warm... I'm sweating a lot... 

I think I've fallen ill. I need to cancel my plans for the day.

Donald won't be happy. 

Ugh... I feel weird as well. 

Is this a side effect to being sick?

Ugh.......


	18. Pandora's Box 17

Donald's POV

Gray's sick? 

He was fine when I left. I don't think he'd lie... 

So he's built like a tiny, fragile porcelain doll and he has a poor immune system. 

Should I check on him? Fuck... I'm going to check on him. I should bring him some books. 

Should I bring him something to eat as well? What would he like? 

...

I'll bring him a cake. Why not. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV 

Of course, my fever dream had to target my friends. That was... very upsetting. They'd never conduct themselves like that. They wouldn't even be able to conduct themselves like that. Most of them have no idea where I live. 

Is my phone ringing? 

It's Donald? 

"Yeah?" (Gray) 

/Gray, please open the door./ (Donald)

"What? You're at my house?" (Gray)

He's at my house? Why? 

"Here~" (Donald)

"What is this... cake? And books to?" (Gray)

"It's strawberry cake on one side and vanilla on the other." (Donald)

"But... why?" (Gray)

"Hm~ why not." (Donald)

[Look at him... he's wearing an ice pack as a hat and his face is still blood red... he really is sick. Alright kid, I guess I'm taking care of you today.] (Donald) 

"Pardon me~" (Donald)

He's just letting himself into my house? 

"Where's the kitchen?" (Donald)

"Why?" (Gray)

"Haha, you know why~" (Donald)

Does he want to cook for me? 

"...Go left..." (Gray)

"Thank you~... And where's your room?" (Donald)

My room? Why does he want to know where my room is?

".....Why?" (Gray)

"I'm going to bring you breakfast in bed. Speaking of which, you should go back to bed." (Donald)

Breakfast in bed? 

This is weird, I've never experienced anything like this before.

"Um... this way." (Gray)

"Ooh~ You're leading me around again~?" (Donald)

"What the- you asked me to!" (Gray)

"But do you really have to lead me by the hand~?" (Donald)

"I'm not..." (Gray)

Oh my god, I am. 

"I didn't mean to-" (Gray)

"Come on~ Take me to your room~" (Donald)

"Don't say it like that." (Gray) 

[Hahaha, he looks so disconcerted. He's so entertaining.] (Donald)

"Hm~ whatever do you mean?" (Donald)

"Tch- nothing. Just follow me." (Gray)

"It's here." (Gray)

"Hm... it's very nice and tidy..." (Donald)

"Thank you, I take pride in my cleanliness." (Gray)

"Really now?" (Donald)

"Yes." (Gray)

[I get that, I hate it when blood gets all over my expensive clothes. It makes such a mess and is just so filthy. The cleanlier it is, the better.] (Donald)

"Well, you stay right here and get some rest. I'll be back." (Donald)

"... Okay..." (Gray)

I guess I'll just climb back into bed then... 

Breakfast in bed... this is going to be interesting. He's not going to feed me by hand, is he? Woah woah woah- get that image out of your head. He has no reason to and he won't. 

What will he bring me anyways? Eggs? Toast?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

I'm just going to keep it simple. Pancakes and berries. A very simple breakfast, but still very enjoyable. Does he have any syrup? 

...

He does, good.

I should bring him tea as well. That'll help him with his cold. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donald's POV 

Look at him. He's reading again... what's he reading... 

"..." (Gray)

Oh, he caught me staring. 

"Breakfast is served~" (Donald)

Why's he staring like that? Is he waiting for something? 

"Are you going to take it?" (Donald)

Why does he look disappointed? Does he not like pancakes? 

"Thank you." (Gray)

He looks like he's enjoying it. So what was wrong then? Did he want more pancakes? No, his disappointed reaction came when I was handing him the food tray. He had already seen the pancakes. So what was it then?

"It's good." (Gray)

"So you like it? Wonderful~" (Donald)

[What is he doing?] (Gray)

This is comfortable. 

"... You do realize I'm still sick right?" (Gray)

"Yes~" (Donald)

[Lunatic, he just climbs into bed with me without even the slightest hesitation.] (Gray)

He's getting out the books again~ 

"Is that another calculus book~" (Donald)

"Eh-? Um... no. This one is a chemistry book..." (Gray)

"Hm~ I was close~" (Donald) 

"...Sure..." (Gray)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grape's POV

Lately, we have become a laughing stock. 

Yeo-il has always acted like they were too good for anyone because of the power they get from Donald Na. Most of Daehyeon still can't be bothered to give two shits about anything. Ganghak has always laughed at us. Yoosun thinks we were trying to prove that we were better than them when we attacked Eunjang. And Eunjang doesn't trust us anymore and will actively threaten and attack us if we merely try to walk on the same sidewalk as them. They're so cautious that not even the pathetic twigs of Eunjang won't go near any other school's pathetic twigs. Honestly, that probably came from White Mamba being a twig and yet beating Wolf somehow. 

It fucking sucks to have to watch your back every time you step outside. I always feel like one of those fuckers is going to strike unexpectedly or I'll run into White Mamba. Seriously though... how the hell did he beat Wolf... Having yet another powerful enemy makes this a million times worse. Ugh... 

Robin says that he thinks that his fight was worse than mine, I'm not so sure about that. Scorpion just fucking flopped seeing as how his entire team failed at taking on literally one person. That person was ranked, but still. That stupid tree isn't nearly as high a rank as Ben or White Mamba. 

Fuck, everything should be fine as long as I can avoid those fuckers. I have my team with me so I should be safe. 

Forrest looks like he's down in the dumps. I guess that loss was just far too big. I've heard people talking since that disaster, they're now debating if it's us or Yoosun that is the weakest in the Union. It fucking sucks. They don't understand just how difficult Eunjang is and treat it like it's our fault that we lost. That school is full of monsters. Obviously, the most dangerous monsters are that of Ben Park and White Mamba, but that was before we had a proper understanding of how powerful they are. We weren't prepared and there was no way for us to be prepared. And of course, Donald Na's going to send Daehyeon's Jake Ji after them and then he'll just crush them like they're nothing and nobody will ever understand just how difficult that place is. I fucking hate it. We're just going to look like even more of a laughing stock than we did before. 

Ha... this sucks. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Philip POV

Everything has just been fucked. What am I to do? Should I try to convince Ben to join the Union? No, he won't listen to me and he doesn't trust me. He'd have to be pressured into joining the Union by some outside force. It won't matter if I can convince White Mamba to join the Union because he isn't the head of Eunjang. And how did White Mamba end up as number one for our entire school education-wise? I can't fucking win at anything here. I hate it. I need to be back in the Union. I know I can't stand by Donald, but damn it, I still need to be in the Union. 

What do I do? What should I do? What can I do? 

I need an opportunity. Anything to give me a chance to get back into the Union.

This is probably an unhealthy obsession by now, but damn it I need it. 

Just... anything at this point... please... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

He fell asleep... 

Should I take the book? Yes, it'll fall otherwise. 

We didn't even get to try the cake. 

... He's snuggling into me. His skin is very soft and plush, he's like a tiny porcelain doll. He even has an overly pretty face to go with it as well. Should I get out of the bed? I don't want to wake him up. 

This is... nice... very nice. 

Alright then, I guess I'm not going anywhere now. I'll just have to notify Kingsley that I'm going to be here longer than expected. 

{Kingsley. My visit to Gray just got extended to an uncertain amount of time. If anyone tries to check-in, relay them to my phone.} (Donald}

[What does he mean by an uncertain amount of time? Is he spending the night with Gray?] (Kingsley)

{Yes sir.} (Kingsley) 

I like this. He really is like a cute little doll. He's really cuddly too. Alright, we can just stay like this as long as you want.


	19. Pandora's Box 18

Gray's POV

... How long have I been like this? His arm is just right around me and I'm pressed into him. It's comfortable. He's not awake, is he? Oh god, he is. Is that my book that he's reading? 

Fuck, what time is it? Are you kidding me? It's 3 A.M.?!? 

Why is he still awake and reading at 3 A.M.?!? Actually, why is he still here???

He has been cuddling with me for almost the entire night now. Should I just pretend to still be asleep? He's so warm... I can feel my face turning red again... if he notices I'm awake I'll just play it off like I'm still sick. It sounds like a reasonable enough excuse for why my face is red. 

"You're moving a whole lot for a sleeping person~" (Donald)

"..." (Gray)

Fuck. 

"Why are you still here?" (Gray)

"Hahaha~ You looked so comfortable that I didn't want to disturb you." (Donald) 

"What?" (Gray)

"You snuggled up right next to me after you fell asleep. It was adorable." (Donald)

Did I? Maybe I did. I don't have control over what I do when I'm asleep. 

"..." (Gray)

"Hm~ You're not going to say anything else?" (Donald)

"..." (Gray)

"Hahaha~ Alright then." (Donald)

[His face is completely red... He's probably still very ill.] (Donald)

"Are you okay?" (Donald)

"..." (Gray)

"If you continue to not answer I'm just going to assume you're okay." (Donald)

"..." (Gray)

"Hm..." (Donald)

"Okay, let me out." (Gray)

"Ah-" (Donald)

I'll just stay downstairs and study or something. There's no need to stay in bed with him and continue panicking. 

"I'm coming with you. I've been in bed for way too long." (Donald)

Right, assuming that he never got out of bed even once, then he has been in bed with me since yesterday's sunrise all the way to now. Ha... my sleep schedule is going to be so messed up after today. 

"Um... sure." (Gray)

"So, do you have any hobbies~" (Donald)

"...No." (Gray)

"Interests?" (Donald)

"Studying and success." (Gray)

[Success, that's what I want as well. Is it too soon to try and get him to work with me? He might start pushing me away if I try this too soon. I could probably still get him adjusted to working with some of the old data and documents though. That'd be a good way to start off his career with me.] (Donald)

"The cake is in the freezer if you want some, I have to go get something from my limo." (Donald)

Immediately after his questions, he leaves? 

Wait, his limo? Please don't tell me that he left his limo in front of my house... 

Fuck. Regardless of how long my parents are gone for, when they get back in town they're going to hear about the random limo that was in our driveway and they'll ask me about it. They're going to think I have a sugar daddy or something. Ugh... I'll just have to hope that the neighbors forget about it before they get back. 

"Gray~ I've got something for you to try~" (Donald) 

Papers?

"Here." (Donald)

It's data and accounting. It looks like it comes from an actual business. The dating on the paper suggests that this is old work and is probably not in use currently. 

"Donald, where did you get this?" (Gray)

"They're mine. Don't worry about messing things up because those are old, outdated, and no longer in use." (Donald)

So he's testing me then. Alright, I'll play your game. 

"Gimme." (Gray)

[Haha~ he's so eager to try this. I bet he loves challenges. Good~] (Donald)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

I've given him so many random old documents. I'm actually almost out of things to give him. It's wonderful, he's learning so quickly. He'll make a wonderful protege. I'm going to keep this kid forever. 

We will be unstoppable. We'll take over the entire business realm, overpower rival companies, and if anyone goes after us, I'll protect us both. I'll just keep him with me so they can't even reach him. Why was this kid even at Eunjang? He should be in a far better place rather than trapped in that stupid box. I already have a few ideas on how to get him transferred to Yeo-il. It shouldn't be too hard to do. There's no doubt in my mind that he should have the highest grade at his school and a perfect record. Ha~ I can hardly wait. 

"Donald." (Gray)

"Hm?~" (Donald)

"Another one, please." (Gray)

"Hahaha, sure~" (Donald)

I should call Kingsley and have him get the kid's information so we can get the transfer started as soon as possible. I want to have him transferred before I start the real fighting with Eunjang. 

"Excuse me for a second~" (Donald)

"..." (Gray)

I'll just call him from the outside. I'm not ready to tell Gray about my plans for him, but I still want everything to be ready for when I do tell him. If he says no, then I'll just have to keep meeting him after school and throw out my plans to have him transfer. 

"Kingsley." (Donald)

/Yes sir?/ (Kingsley)

"I want you to collect all of the information that you can on my new friend. I want to get him transferred to Yeo-il. His name is Gray Yeon and he currently attends Eunjang so you can start there." (Donald)

[What!?! Donald, what are you thinking? Transfer the kid? Why? How important is that kid? I don't understand. I've only seen him with you that one time.] (Kingsley)

/Yes sir./ (Kingsley)

[I took him seriously when he said that we'd be seeing him more often, but I didn't understand just how much he meant it. He must really want this to be trying to get the kid transferred. But why though? Fuck it, I'll just follow the order he has given me for now. I'll just have to figure out what's so important about that kid from the kid themself.] (Kingsley)

I should grab some of the cake from the freezer. I should bring Gray some as well. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kingsley's POV

...

This is...

I managed to get into the kid's personal school record and... well... it's complete chaos. Somehow the kid managed to get into Byuksan and was then kicked out of Byuksan. He was kicked out for randomly attacking three students and giving unwarranted backtalk to school officials. Supposedly there were three kids that were minding their own business in their classroom when he burst in and attacked them for no clear reason. The backtalk came when they tried to reason with him and find a peaceful solution. He apparently threatened them and the other students and acted like he was the victim. 

I could see him giving backtalk to his elders and other school officials seeing as how he was bold enough to give attitude to Donald Na, but threatening them seems a bit extreme. In addition to this, the idea of Donald Na wanting to have some drama king transferred to Yeo-il makes no sense. I also don't think this kid is the type to randomly start brawls just based off of his figure alone. He should be getting beaten to a pulp when up against one person let alone three. There is definitely something wrong with this record. 

And on the side that doesn't have to deal with his supposedly violent tendencies, he's the person who got first place for the Olympiad last year. I guess that explains why Byuksan didn't even come close to placing this year and the bottomless pit called Eunjang somehow got first instead. It's definitely for his intelligence that Donald wants him to be transferred. He's currently the smartest at Eunjang and that's about the only thing that makes sense about his school record. 

I'm going to have to show this to Donald personally. This record is so messed up that I'm not sure what's true and what's not.


	20. Pandora's Box 19

Eugene's POV

"Gray, my dude! What's up?" (Rowan)

"...Hm... the weekend was... peculiar." (Gray)

Peculiar? That's an odd way for him to respond. 

"In like a good way or a bad way?" (Rowan)

"... Not sure. I... think it was nice." (Gray)

"You think?" (Rowan)

Is he not sure if he enjoyed it or not? 

"Um... Gray, are you uh... are you okay?" (Eugene)

"I'm fine." (Gray)

"I'm sorry... it's just that... you uh... you don't really sound sure of yourself and um... I've never seen you unsure of something before." (Eugene)

"..." (Gray)

D-did I make him angry?

"I made a new friend..." (Gray)

"Oh! That's good! New friends are always good!" (Eugene)

So he made a new friend? Is it them that has him acting like this? 

"You should introduce us to him sometime. I love making friends." (Rowan)

"... Maybe." (Gray)

Why did he sound so uncertain on introducing us? It's a new friend right?

[Something is telling me that introducing Donald to them now is a bad idea... I wonder why?] (Gray)

"So what's he like?" (Rowan)

"He's very... weird." (Gray)

[He's a rich albino that talks with nonserious flirty undertones.] (Gray)

"Ha! Takes one to know one." (Rowan)

[Shit! Me and my big mouth!] (Rowan)

"Hm... I... guess you're right." (Gray)

"I am? -I mean- I am!" (Rowan)

[He and I are very weird, aren't we.] (Gray)

"Well, it'll be nice when we meet him." (Eugene)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy's POV

Rowan should be in the class soon. I should tell him about our visit to the arcade after helping out with the veterinary building. I didn't win most of the games, but it's still worth mentioning. 

I should also meet up with the whole crew before the day's up. 

"Teddy!" (Rowan)

"Hey." (Teddy)

"What's up?" (Rowan)

"Boredom." (Teddy)

"How was the vet visit? And Adellah? I haven't seen her in a while." (Rowan)

"Pft- Ben and Alex spilled papers everywhere. We got stuck having to sort them for several hours. Adellah was not happy." (Teddy)

"Oooh... oof. That sucks." (Rowan)

"On the bright side we still had time to hit up the arcade before going home. I won quite a few games." (Teddy)

Very, very few games. (Teddy)

"Aw, sweet! What'd you play?" (Rowan)

"Tekken, some random shooting games, and some racing games." (Teddy)

I crashed a lot. (Teddy)

"What was the final score?" (Rowan)

"Uh- didn't check. I didn't get to take down any of the top scores so it didn't matter to me." (Teddy)

"Huh... makes sense." (Rowan)

"Yep, and how are you?" (Teddy)

"Pretty sweet." (Rowan) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Philip's POV

Just as I had predicted, my minions are far more reluctant to hang around me now that they know that all of my power was fiction. 

Teddy and Rowan run this classroom like a fucking shit show. They don't even pay attention to what's going on around them. Admittedly there isn't anything going on, but still. 

And here's what makes this whole entire thing worse. I know for a fact that Rowan, that stupid redhead, is a bluffer as well. The first time he set foot in this classroom he pulled that super fucking ambitious bluff. I proved that it was a bluff in front of everyone. Now everyone seems to have forgotten about that bluff that I called him out on and now think he's legit. Teddy seems to believe it as well. They all believe it. Sure I hear stories about him fighting, but I also put out stories of me fighting. For sure a bunch of it is just complete bullshit. Why is it that someone who played by almost all of the same rules gets to thrive and I don't? And of course, I can't beat him and then become the number two of the class, Teddy would kill me. The fucking furry hates me and refuses to let me gain any kind of power here. 

"Hey, we've got time, let's go see Gray!" (Rowan)

"Sure, why not." (Teddy)

Yeah, that's right. Get out of here you assholes. 

Now that they're gone, back to the main problem. 

Ben. 

What can I do to get him to help me or submit to me. 

Okay, fighting him is pointless so let's cross that off of the list. Nobody's going to help me try to beat him and nobody will believe me even if I were to succeed.

Buy him? Ugh... Ben can't be bought. 

Get him to join the Union? That's going to be fucking difficult and maybe impossible. I don't think he'd even want to listen to me if I were to bring the idea up. 

None of these options are good... Fuck. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

"Gray! I'm back. Did ya miss me?" (Rowan)

"Hi." (Gray)

[Gray gives automatic responses to only a few people. Even then the automatic responses are rare. He must be in a good mood.] (Eugene)

"I'm here to." (Teddy)

"Teddy." (Gray)

"Uh- yes?" (Teddy)

"Nothing." (Gray)

"Ah... okay." (Teddy)

[Teddy's still nervous around Gray. I guess he's never going to grow out of that.] (Eugene)

"What's up?" (Rowan)

"Hm..." (Gray)

"Happy..." (Gray)

"Happy? Well, um... that's nice." (Rowan)

[Happy? That's an odd response for him.] (Rowan)

"W-was that the bell? But it's so early?" (Eugene)

"Fuck, we've got to run. Sorry, bye!" (Teddy)

"..." (Gray)

"Ah- bye!" (Eugene)

Donald was texting me? 

"Put your phones up, class is now in session!" (The Overly Peppy Teacher)

I'll answer him during the lunch break. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben's POV

Alex seems to be in a better mood lately after crushing all of us in Tekken. I managed to pull off beating him once thanks to Master Gray. Which reminds me, I should arrange for us all to go to the arcade together instead of it just being four of us. Yeah... That'd be cool and I bet Alex would like it. 

It's probably going to be hard to arrange for something that doesn't conflict with anybody else's time, but I can do it; after all, I'm Big Ben. It won't be difficult to work around Teddy, Alex, and I's schedule, but then there's Gerard's after school job, Eugene and Rowan's cram school, and Gray's cram school and study room. 

It's definitely going to be the most difficult to work around Gray's schedule above all else. I'll figure something out. 

"What?" (Alex)

"Ah nothing, just thinking." (Ben)

Right, I was staring for too long. 

"How 'bout we go play soccer. I bet we've still got time." (Ben)

[Class started two minutes ago. Aw... heck. Whatever. We can skip the first hour.] (Alex)

"Hell yeah!" (Alex)


	21. Pandora's Box 20

Donald's POV

{Gray, Kingsley and I found a new restaurant in town. Come with us.} (Donald)

Gray's record is completely fucked. I knew he didn't belong in that shitty school, Eunjang. At first glance at the record and without knowing him personally, he sounds like a violent rampaging egomaniac who thinks he's above punishment. The more you look into things though, it's clear that someone who has a grudge against him wrote his school record. There were clear aims to ruin his future. I do believe the idea that he could beat three different people despite his small figure, but I don't believe he'd do such a thing without reason. He's also far too reserved, despite his clear attitude towards me, to just randomly start giving backtalk to school officials. I want to hear the story from him. Unfortunately, I don't think it's a good idea to randomly bring up the fact that I basically did a background check on him. This is something that I will have to bring up much much later. For now, I'm going to have to leave it be. 

As for the restaurant, there's no way that he can afford to go somewhere like this. Byuksan is expensive, but this in itself is a luxury. He belongs on my side and this is the luxury he deserves. 

Cakes, puddings, sundaes, pastries galore... every kind of dessert that anyone could ever ask for. Sure the actual fine dining is extraordinary, but truly the best part about that restaurant is its desserts. I doubt that he has had anything like it. I'll have to introduce him to as many of them as possible. 

{I still have cram school and a study room to attend. I will not be available today.} (Gray)

Ah... right. His schedule is annoyingly tight. 

{When will you be available?} (Donald)

{Two days from now, I should have time. The cram school gets out early and the study room is closed for the day.} (Gray)

{Wonderful, would you rather I pick you up from your cram school or your house?} (Donald)

[He's going to show up in a limo again, isn't he? Ugh... I'll just go with my house. I've already started to hear the random rumors from my neighborhood talking about how there's some random family who either won the lottery or gained a sugar daddy. I might as well keep those stupid rumors contained to one area.] (Gray)

{Pick me up from my house.} (Gray)

Perfect, absolutely perfect. I don't have to wait long at all. I can probably look more into what the fuck happened to his record and how to work around it for the transfer as well. It shouldn't be too difficult with my good word to the school. They will believe me if I say that he has changed, they have a deep trust in me. I still don't like the idea of implying that he ever was what the record implied him to be, but this is currently the only choice I have. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

Okay... in two days I go to a restaurant with Donald and... Kingsley was it? Should I bring something for them? No, there's nothing that I can give that they don't already have. If anything, I should at least dress my best. Wait, what kind of restaurant are we going to? If it's somewhere fancy I'd have to wear a suit, but if it isn't and is just somewhere casual I'll look completely out of place in a suit. 

{Donald, what kind of a restaurant are we going to? How should I dress?} (Gray)

{Actually, better yet. What is the restaurant called?} (Gray)

{Haha~ You seem eager for us all to get together~} (Donald)

No, I don't, these are normal questions. 

{The restaurant is a surprise, and you should wear a suit.} (Donald)

Shit, he's taking me to some random expensive place, isn't he? Sounds about right for him. I should bring some books for the ride. Since he's not telling me where the restaurant is let alone what it's called, I should prepare for a long ride.

I will focus on my studies for now, I don't know how much time I'll miss for studies while I'm with him so I'll prepare for the possibility of losing all of my study time. 

I should also finish my lunch. School lunch isn't nearly as good as fresh and carefully cooked food... This is making me look forward to the restaurant. 

"..." (Gray)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily's POV

Him... look at him... he's so pretty... He looks like he's deep in thought. Gray, how I wish I knew you more. All that I know about you is your face and your courage. Truly he must be a prince. Only a prince would be able to cause evil delinquent ogres like the fiend from several weeks ago to just stop dead in their tracks with fear like that. At least that's what I like to think. I'm not really sure though... 

I draw him often now... He's so pretty. Pretty like an idol prince. I imagine so many fairy tales for us both. Him a prince in a castle and me a village girl. He lets me into his castle and takes me to paradise. There's unicorns, fairies, and maybe someday children... 

Ha...

"Ah!" (Lily)

I almost fell asleep!

Oh no... everyone heard me and is looking at me. How embarrassing! 

He's not looking as well, is he?

He isn't? 

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? 

I think it's a good thing; after all, it looks like he's just very focused on his studies. 

Ah! A new idea! He's a brilliant scientist and I'm his assistant and... oh no. I shouldn't be daydreaming during class. I'm going to miss something... but... he's so pretty... and... and... 

He's looking this way! Look away, Lily! I wasn't staring! I wasn't! 

[I feel like I missed something.] (Gray)

... He's not looking anymore. Ah... 

[I definitely missed something...] (Gray)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gerard's POV

I've sung almost every day now. My vocal cords are surprisingly not tired yet. This job of singing for weddings has been getting me a whole lot more publicity too. It's wonderful. I honestly feel like I'm finally getting somewhere. I want to tell my friends, but this might be a temporary rise in publicity and disappear suddenly. 

I'll just let myself enjoy this for now...


End file.
